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Guardians score, highlights: Cleveland beats Boston, continues hot streak to open 2024

Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal
·5 min read

After a shutout loss in a brutally cold, rain-drenched night, the Guardians bounced back to beat the Boston Red Sox Thursday afternoon to finish their three-game series.

The Guardians still own the best record in the American League. And they entered Wednesday with the second-best winning percentage in baseball, behind only the Atlanta Braves.

The Guardians have been discussing the positive vibes in the clubhouse, which is something they attribute to new manager Stephen Vogt and backup catcher Austin Hedges, who discussed his career arc and new focus on being a mentor to younger players. In many ways, Hedges is their secret weapon.

Here's how Wednesday's game unfolded.

Guardians beat the Red Sox 6-4 Thursday afternoon

The Guardians are now 18-7 in their first 25 games.

Cleveland took down the Red Sox 6-4 Thursday afternoon, with Emmanuel Clase closing out the ninth for his eighth save of the season. The Guardians took two of three games in this series and won the overall season series 5-2 vs. Boston

Apr 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) hits a grand slam during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) hits a grand slam during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Jose Ramirez manufactures a run with his legs

Sometimes, Jose Ramirez can just about do it all on the bases.

After a single, Ramirez stole second and advanced to third after the throw dribbled into shallow center field. He then scored on a passed ball, giving the Guardians a 6-4 lead simply by forcing the Red Sox into a couple of mistakes.

It's an example of how Jose Ramirez might be baseball's most exciting baserunner.

Guardians lead trimmed to one during Red Sox rally

Entering the bottom of the sixth, it's now a one-run game.

The Red Sox chipped away against the Guardians bullpen, bringing home two runs against Nick Sandlin, including an RBI single off the bat of Jarren Duran that made it 5-4.

Triston McKenzie pulled after 75 pitches; Guardians lead Red Sox 5-2

Triston McKenzie was pulled after the fourth inning and only 75 pitches. He has yet to reach 90 pitches in any outing this season.

The positive note for McKenzie today: he struck out seven batters in only those four innings, a marked improvement from his first few starts.

Bobby Dalbac takes his base even though it was only ball three

Listen, when you're 2-for-38, you need all the help you can get.

Dalbec took a ball from McKenzie and began to jog to first base. The only problem? It was only ball three, and Dalbac had to make the trek back to home plate. He then reached first base on a swinging bunt to third base, a slow dribbler that happened to find the right spot.

The "hit" raised Dalbac's average to a blistering .077 this season.

Red Sox cut into Guardians lead with Rob Refsnyder triple

The Guardians have started to chip away at the Guardians lead against Triston McKenzie. With a runner on, Rob Refsnyder tripled off the left-field wall after Steven Kwan crashed into it trying to make the grab. Refsnyder then scored via a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.

Jose Ramirez grand slam breaks open Guardians-Red Sox game; Now tied with Jim Thome on franchise all-time hits list

Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the second inning Thursday against the Boston Red Sox in Cleveland.
Cleveland Guardians designated hitter Jose Ramirez (11) rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam home run during the second inning Thursday against the Boston Red Sox in Cleveland.

Chase Anderson and Jose Ramirez were locked in a duel that included a full count and a number of foul balls.

Ramirez, on the 10th pitch of the at-bat, won the battle in a big way, launching a grand slam over the wall in the right field to put the Guardians up 5-0.

That was Ramirez's 221st career home run with the Guardians as he continues to track down some of the biggest names in franchise history on their all-time list.

It was also hit No. 1,353 with Cleveland, tying him with Jim Thome for 12th on the franchise's all-time hits list.

Most grand slams in Cleveland Guardians club history

  • Manny Ramirez 13

  • Travis Hafner 12

  • Al Rosen 9

  • Albert Belle, Jim Thome 7

  • Jose Ramirez, Andre Thornton, Rocky Colavito 6

Will Brennan home run gives Guardians the lead, continues hot streak

Apr 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Will Brennan (17) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians right fielder Will Brennan (17) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Will Brennan has been heating up as of late.

Brennan just drilled a solo home run to right field to put the Guardians up 1-0 in the second inning.

Brennan entered today hitting .273 with a 1.015 OPS in his last seven games and now has three home runs, three doubles and five RBIs over the last 10 days.

In October of last year, Brennan spoke about his 2023 season and the lessons he hoped to take into 2024.

Triston McKenzie velocity still down, but Guardians and Red Sox scoreless heading into bottom of the second

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in Cleveland.
Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in Cleveland.

Triston McKenzie's velocity is still in line with his first few starts, as he's averaging 91.1 mph on his fastball. It's actually slightly up from last week, but it's still down from 2024, when it averaged 92.4 mph.

Still, McKenzie has worked around some traffic to escape the first two innings without harm.

Below is some pregame information.

How to watch Guardians game today on TV

Today's game is on Bally Sports Great Lakes, starting at 1 p.m.

Guardians vs. Red Sox starting pitching matchup: Triston McKenzie vs. Chase Anderson

Apr 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 19, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie (24) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Triston McKenzie has had a rough start to the 2024 season, but he's coming off an encouraging outing in which he gave up a lead-off home run but then held the Oakland A's in check the rest of the day. Still, his ERA is 5.00 entering Thursday, and he's struck out only 11 hitters in 18 innings. His velocity remains something to closely monitor, as it's been down this year.

Guardians starting lineup today vs. Red Sox

Apr 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) hits a single during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan (38) hits a single during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

  • Steven Kwan, LF

  • Andres Gimenez, 2B

  • Jose Ramirez, 3B

  • Josh Naylor, 1B

  • Will Brennan, RF

  • Tyler Freeman, CF

  • Estevan Florial, DH

  • Bo Naylor, C

  • Brayan Rocchio, SS

Red Sox starting lineup today vs. Guardians

Apr 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) hits a home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Rafael Devers (11) hits a home run during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

  • Jarren Duran, CF

  • Rafael Devers, DH

  • Rob Refsnyder, LF

  • Wilyer Abreu, RF

  • Pablo Reyes, 3B

  • Bobby Dalbec, 1B

  • David Hamilton, 2B

  • Reese McGuire, C

  • Ceddanne Rafaela, SS

Guardians schedule

Thursday's game with Boston ends a six-game homestand for the Guardians. They head to Atlanta this weekend for a three-game series, which starts Friday. After an off day Monday, Cleveland plays at Houston in a three-game series starting Tuesday.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians game score vs. Boston Red Sox live updates